Hard Questions
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: The first time one of their children asks why their father can't see, Annie cries. Future fic. Annie/Auggie


**Disclaimer**: I don't own Covert Affairs and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: I'm so glad the show is back! It gave me more fic ideas. I hope you enjoy!

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><p>The first time one of the kids asks why their daddy can't see, Annie Walker-Anderson cries. She doesn't want to, but it just happens. (Auggie blames it on the pregnancy hormones.) Truth be told, both Auggie and Annie are surprised that it took this long for one of them to ask. He's been waiting for the question for a long time, however.<p>

"Did I do something wrong?" Five year old Roxanne "Roxy" Danielle Walker-Anderson is confused. She just asked her parents a question.

"Of course not, sweetheart. Mommy's just upset because the twins are making her go crazy," Auggie assures her. It earns him a glare from his wife, but it is part of the truth.

"We'll explain later tonight, Baby. How about that? We can talk later once your brother gets home from school. It'll be easier to tell you all together." Annie's recovered now, but she knows she's going to fall apart again when they do have the "Why is Daddy blind?" conversation.

Roxy accepts the answer for now and goes upstairs to play with her toy. Auggie heads towards the kitchen, and Annie follows her husband. "I don't know why I'm so upset. And it's not because I'm pregnant, so don't you dare say that again! We knew this day was coming, Aug. And it still threw me for a loop."

Auggie hugs his wife. "Shh, it's okay. Calm down, Anne." He continues to hug her as Annie's breath hitches and she starts crying all over again. He figured he'd fall apart, but he's doing surprisingly well with this. Maybe it's because he has to be strong for his wife at the moment. When Annie finally calms down, Auggie leads her to the couch so they can watch some TV before nine year old Xander gets home from school. She's fast asleep when the bus drops off their eldest son.

After eating dinner, Annie and Auggie set down Xander, Roxy, and three year old Wes to explain and tell them in the truth in terms they can understand. Neither of them wants to scare their children. That's not their plan here.

"Today, Roxy asked why Daddy can't see. That was a very good question to ask, and we want to tell you three why. Who else has been curious about this?"

Roxy and Xander both raise their hands. About a minute later, Wes' hand goes up because his siblings' hands did. Despite herself, Annie holds back laughter at that. Their youngest (for now) loves to mimic his brother and sister. Danielle has told her multiple times that it's normal.

"So, why is Daddy blind? Was he born that way?" Xander has always been curious, but too terrified to ask.

"No, I wasn't. I could see just like all of you for a long time." Auggie is nervous, but he doesn't know why. And he knows he shouldn't be. They're just answering their children's questions.

"Then how did it happen?" Roxy is staring at her parents, waiting for the question to be revealed.

Annie and Auggie exchange a panicked look. They haven't exactly come up with a way to explain it to the kids, but it's Annie who takes over. "Do any of you know what war is?"

Xander nods. "It's when a lot of people fight and there's gun and blood everywhere. It's awesome!"

Annie stares at her son in horror. Auggie understands that his son finds war fascinating. He's at that age for it. Doesn't mean he likes it, however. "Alexander August Walker-Anderson, war is not awesome. Don't you dare say that again!" Annie is aware she's overreacting, but she doesn't feel that her son should have that view of war.

"Sorry, Mom." Xander doesn't understand why his mother is acting like this, but he decides to apologize anyway. That's what his dad said to do when the hormones made his mom crazy.

Annie takes a deep breath. "It's okay. Aug, you want to take over?"

Auggie nods and starts talking. "Well, I was over in Iraq. Mommy's going to show you the country on a map after we're all done talking. You're free to ask me any and all questions that you want answered. We'll be honest."

"You were fighting bad guys?" Roxy thinks her father is a hero now, and Annie thinks it's sweet. Their daughter is going to be hero worshipping Auggie for a long time after this.

"Yes , I was fighting bad guys."

"And the bad guys got you?" Xander is eager to know the answer. He hopes his father got revenge against the bad guys.

"In a sense." Auggie goes on to explain what happened to his children, and they all listen to him and ask him multiple questions. Both Annie and Auggie are patient. They don't mind that Xander, Roxy, and Wes are curious. It's one of the many things they love about their sons and daughter.

"Can you ever see again?" That is the last question for the night, and Roxy desperately wants to know.

"No, sweetie. Your daddy is going to be blind for the rest of his life. It's very sad, but that's the way it is." Annie hopes she isn't making her five year old cynical already. That would not be good.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Roxy gets up from the couch and hugs her father. Xander and Wes follow suit.

"Alright, it's time for bed. Let's go, Rox and Wes." Xander has a later bed time, so he gets up to stay up for another hour and a half. He snuggles up to his father. Auggie smiles and hugs his eldest son closer to him.

Annie tucks Roxy into bed first. Her daughter is strangely quiet for once, and it's making her nervous. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Roxy…"

"Nothing's wrong, Mommy! I promise."

"Well, then, will you tell me what you're thinking, Miss Roxanne?" Annie tickles her daughter and beams as she giggles.

Roxy sighs. "I want to be a doctor when I grow up and try to help blind people like Daddy."

Annie stares at her daughter in shock before the first tear drops. "That is amazing of you, Baby." She struggles not to cry on her daughter and son again. The CIA agent doesn't want to freak them out. At least these are happy tears.

"Thanks, Mommy." Roxy smiles lights up the entire room. After her daughter falls asleep, Annie puts Wes to bed and heads back downstairs.

While the "Why is Daddy blind?" conversation had been one of the hardest things for Auggie and Annie to do, they were glad it had happened. Being honest with their children about this type of stuff was important to them.

They were open to any and all questions that Xander, Roxy, and Wes threw at them. They were going to try to be the best parents they could.


End file.
